The challenger's second Pokémon was Piloswine. This challenger was specifically targeting Clair, as the Ice type is super effective against the Dragon type. However, Clair's expression did not change; she had encountered this situation too many times.
Piloswine's Talent Grade was Excellent, and its Trainer Rank was Elite. Although it had the type advantage, Eichi felt this Piloswine would lose. Sure enough, Clair's Dragonair launched a fierce, relentless assault. Piloswine was completely unable to fight back. Finally, Dragonair used Dragon Rage, which immediately caused Piloswine to lose its ability to battle. Ultimately, the challenger lost the match.
Click.
Eichi pressed the shutter button, capturing the exciting moment. He then aimed at Clair and took a picture of her brave and heroic pose. Although this challenger didn't win, Clair still awarded the Dragon Badge to him.
Subsequently, two more challengers stepped up. Their strength was quite good, but Eichi still hadn't seen Clair use her main force. It seemed the strength of these three challengers was not enough to make her use her ace Pokémon. Only one of the three managed to defeat her, but all three received the Badge.
Eichi checked the time; it was already 2 o'clock. His train was leaving in an hour. Amidst the applause, Eichi stood up and walked toward the exit.
He passed by the Pokémon Center.
The street was still crowded with people coming and going. Eichi was not in a hurry and walked slowly when he suddenly heard shouting coming from a distance.
"Everyone, get out of the way! Rhyperior is out of control!"
"Clear the area!"
The crowd suddenly became chaotic. Eichi turned his head to look into the distance, and with his amazing eyesight, he could clearly see what was happening.
A Rhyperior had burst out, its eyes red and maddened. It was attacking buildings and people everywhere.
The surrounding people quickly scrambled to safety, with the shouts of men, the screams of women, and the cries of children filling the air.
Not long after Rhyperior rushed out, an Ursaring appeared. It was also destroying everything it saw. Its situation was the same as Rhyperior's; its eyes were bulging and bloodshot, and it had lost control.
The situation became even worse. The two Pokémon's trainers were chasing after them, shouting warnings to the bystanders while frantically calling their Pokémon's names.
Someone nearby had already called the police, but the officers could not arrive on the scene immediately. Furthermore, some bystanders released their own Pokémon, hoping to stop the destructive behavior of the two uncontrolled Pokémon. Common Pokémon like Pidgey, Raticate, Sentret, and Sunflora attacked together, but their Pokémon were too weak. They couldn't stop Rhyperior and Ursaring, especially since they were in a frenzied state. One by one, the Pokémon were knocked down, heavily injured, and unable to get up quickly.
After defeating the other Pokémon, Rhyperior continued its rampage. Rhyperior suddenly spotted a building and intended to demolish it.
Eichi noticed that a group of people was hiding beneath that structure. If Rhyperior destroyed the building, the debris would crash down onto the crowd below. The situation was similar to that of Ursaring; a crowd of people who hadn't managed to escape was near it.
The situation was now extremely dangerous. Eichi was about 30 meters away from the two Pokémon.
He couldn't stand by; he had to act.
Eichi took out two Pokéballs. "Beedrill, Scizor! Beedrill, Rhyperior is your target. Scizor, your target is Ursaring."
Underneath a building, a group of people huddled together, terrified and trembling all over. A little girl was tightly embraced by her mother. In her innocent eyes, Rhyperior's bloodshot gaze and roaring appearance were terrifying. She was too frightened to even cry, simply staring blankly at it.
Rhyperior raised its thick arm, intending to strike the building.
Seeing this, the little girl instinctively tucked her head down and closed her eyes, bracing for death. However, after several seconds, nothing happened, except for a deafening cry of pain right beside her ear.
She opened her eyes and saw Rhyperior frozen and motionless. A large hole had been pierced through its neck, shattering the rock-like skin around the wound. The perpetrator instantly vanished. In the fleeting moment of departure, the little girl thought she saw Beedrill glance at her, and then it was gone.
The people around her felt the same. They only saw a lightning-fast figure strike Rhyperior before disappearing immediately. Rhyperior fell over with a crash, having been knocked unconscious. Not far away, Ursaring experienced the same fate. A red blur obscured its exact appearance, but it slammed into Ursaring. Ursaring didn't even have time to let out a cry before collapsing onto the ground, unconscious.
Their trainers rushed to their Pokémon's sides, calling their names anxiously. Just then, a group of people came out of the Pokémon Center. Nurse Joy and Chansey brought out several stretchers to treat the seriously injured Pokémon. A little while later, Officer Jenny arrived, albeit belatedly, rushing to the scene to understand the situation. Busy figures were everywhere.
The little girl's mother breathed a sigh of relief. "It's alright, Aiko," she said to her daughter.
"Mommy," the little girl said in a sweet voice, "I just saw a Beedrill defeat the big monster."
"You must have been mistaken, Aiko," her mother said, smiling. "A Pokémon like Beedrill couldn't possibly defeat that big monster."
The little girl insisted firmly, "It was Beedrill that defeated the big monster."
"Alright, alright," her mother said helplessly. "A Beedrill defeated the big monster." Though she secretly believed Aiko must have been seeing things.
***
Azuma was Muramasa's disciple. He had asked Muramasa for leave to return home and visit his family. Today, he was rushing to catch the last train to Cherrygrove City, and while passing the Pokémon Center, he happened to see Rhyperior and Ursaring out of control and causing destruction everywhere.
He had just taken out a Pokéball, ready to intervene.
"Scyther, wait!"
In his line of sight, two figures rushed out. One struck Rhyperior, and the other collided with Ursaring. Just like that, both Pokémon were knocked to the ground, and the situation was resolved. He couldn't clearly see one of the figures, but the other red, lightning-fast figure strongly resembled his Master Muramasa's Scizor, Masamune.
Immediately after dealing with the two Pokémon, both figures vanished without a trace. However, he saw a young boy in the nearby crowd recalling two Pokéballs. The boy must have sensed he was being watched, because he glanced back, then disappeared into the crowd. That must have been the trainer of those two Pokémon.